U.S. officials .
say that as many as 12 countries including Russia, Iraq, and North Korea, have established capabilities to .
produce and load deadly anthrax spores into weapons (D.Funk, Army Times, 3-19-98). An anthrax .
loaded scud missile could kill 100,000 people in an urban area according to a 1993 study, Proliferation .
of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks, (J. Erlich, Army Times, 9-8-97). No country is .
known to have released the biological agent during wartime. Anthrax has the potential to cover large .
areas of the battlefield. It is not known what branch of service, front line, or rear area troops would be at .
greater risks. Defense Secretary William Cohen stated, Anthrax is the poor man's atomic bomb (D. .
Funk, Army Times,1-12-98). .
The anthrax vaccine is used to protect against anthrax. It contains only dead organisms. Human .
vaccination was developed in England and the United States in the 1950's and early 1960's. The .
vaccination was licensed and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1970. The .
vaccination is produced by Michigan Biologic Products Institute located in Lansing, Michigan. It has .
been administered to veterinarians, laboratory workers, and livestock handlers safely for over twenty five .
years (D.Funk, Army Times, 8-31-98). The anthrax vaccination prevents illness by stimulating the .
body's natural disease fighting abilities. It has not been proven whether the vaccination will work against .
inhaled anthrax. The informational insert that usually comes with the vaccine could not be obtained. I did .
find that according to the Michigan Department of Public Health in Lansing, Michigan there are no .
references for using the vaccine for inhaled anthrax (Joyce, AGWVA). Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of .
Staff, General Henry H. Shelton says we have stockpiled a safe and effective vaccine to protect our .
forces against anthrax (DefenseLINK a., 18June98). There are many views and arguments to this .